E-Newsletter April 2, 2007

April 01, 2007

National Popular Vote Plan Passes Maryland House and Senate!

Governor O'Malley Pledges to Sign Bill; National Media Weighs In

On Monday, April 2nd - the Maryland House of Delegates passed the historic National Popular Vote plan by a margin of 85 to 54. This huge win for fair presidential elections comes quickly on the heels of the State Senate's passage of the same legislation last week by a vote of 29 to 17. The bill will now head to the desk of Governor Martin O'Malley who has indicated that he will sign the bill into law.

This successful effort was due in no small part to the efforts of FairVote Action's Ryan O'Donnell and National Popular Vote. Together, they were able to win endorsements for the measure from a range of local groups, including the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, Common Cause Maryland, Progressive Maryland, and the Frederick News-Post. Additionally, the bill was sponsored by former FairVote board member, Senator Jamie Raskin. National supporters include the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, Latino Congreso, the Asian American Action Fund, and former U.S. Senators like Birch Bayh (D-IN) and Jake Garn (R-UT).

The National Popular Vote plan is an innovative proposal that would unite states through an interstate compact to award all of their electoral votes to the presidential candidate receiving the most popular votes nationwide (in all 50 states and the District of Columbia). The National Popular Vote plan would take effect only when the plan has been enacted by states collectively possessing at least a majority of the electoral votes that is 270 of the 538 electoral votes. This guarantees that the presidential candidate receiving the most popular votes nationwide will win enough electoral votes in the Electoral College to become President.

Developed by National Popular Vote, this plan would ensure an equally meaningful vote for Americans in all states, not just "battlegrounds" like Florida and Ohio, by having states use their constitutional powers to guarantee election of the national popular vote winner in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

In other FairVote news, we are hiring several new positions over the coming months. Please visit our job announcements site to apply. Also, instant runoff voting was called "the wave of the future" by North Carolina State Board of Elections Director Gary Bartlett in a news article about his state's plans to use IRV in several cities this fall.
FairVote's Ryan O'Donnell also touted IRV in an op-ed in the Boston Globe, and Vermont's League of Women Voters president Catherine Rader endorsed it for congressional elections in new commentary.
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